Sponsorships That Caught My Eye

Crawling out of bed, still groggy, a simple radio sponsorship read caught my attention this morning on ESPN’s Mike and Mike in the Morning radio show. Progressive Insurance, a Fortune 500 company based in Cleveland, bought naming rights for the former Jacobs Field in Cleveland before the season started, also buys ad time with ESPN radio. In a smart move, it created an ad integrating Progressive Field as a place to catch a game, and ESPN where you can hear the games – all of it brought to you by Progressive. Not sure it sold any product, but it certainly reminded me that Progressive is now the Indians home field.

On the topic of Mike and Mike, they continue to do a great job integrating sponsors and taking advantage of marketing opportunities. They turned a silly little wager on the NCAA tournament into a full blown annual event, tagged with a new sponsor each year. Buffalo Wild Wings brought you the Golic Eating Competition this year. Broadcasting on ESPN2 and live on ESPNRadio.com, Buffalo Wild Wings had logo and sign presence on TV the entire 15 minute segment, received countless radio mentions the past few weeks through today, and it was the focus of the competition. Having the professional eaters tout how good the wings are helps immeasurably. Great job by ESPN, great opportunity for Buffalo Wild Wings.